Join us for Foley’s Emerging Automotive Technologies: Tomorrow’s Trends Today where industry leaders will discuss fully connected and self-driving cars, improvements to alternative energy for vehicles, and several other technologies being used in the automotive industry. REGISTER HERE This program will showcase industry leaders, venture capitalists and legal professionals as they share insights around how companies … Continue reading this entry

Preparing an investor pitch deck is a task that most start-up companies encounter in the fund raising process. While almost all companies create investor pitch decks, many fail to do so effectively or with maximum impact. Founder teams often consider the pitch deck an afterthought to a company’s MVP (minimum viable product) or the beta … Continue reading this entry Tags: Pitch Deck; Pitching; Investor Pitch; Fundraising; Investor

Christopher Mims had an article in the Wall Street Journal recently titled “The Dangers Ahead if Tech Unicorns Get Gored.” In his article, Mr. Mims discusses the potential collateral damage of a failed unicorn. The article is thought provoking and includes two quotes that highlight aspects of venture capital that are important to understand. Venture … Continue reading this entry Tags: debt,preferred equity,subprime unicorn,unicorn,venture capital

Companies enjoying success in the U.S. often seek global expansion to gain strategic benefits from accessing new markets—new revenue potential, talent acquisition and increased brand awareness. Before replicating your business for a new market and approaching global expansion as a default growth option, the development of a well-constructed business strategy is imperative. International business expansion … Continue reading this entry Tags: Global Expansion,Global Market,Growth,International

This post was originally written by Dylan Rochon, 2015 Foley & Lardner LLP Startup Connector. The term “crowdfunding” is closely associated with websites such as Kickstarter.com and GoFundMe.com. These sites provide a platform for startup companies to attract attention and funding. They provide an avenue for a wider group of investors to help fund or … Continue reading this entry

Join us on October 1, 2015 as we explore how the evolution of technology has transformed business and altered the investing landscape. Our 11th annual FOLEYTech Summit will bring together tech entrepreneurs, executives, managers, investors and advisers.… Continue reading this entry

This spring, the SEC adopted final rules required by the JOBS Act, which some hoped would increase smaller companies’ access to capital. Note, this wasn’t the long-awaited crowdfunding rules, it was the expansion of Regulation A (called by many Reg A+). Regulation A is an existing, and little used, exemption from the registration requirements of the … Continue reading this entry

The fundraising process requires countless hours to develop and refine an investor pitch. While the majority of that time will be focused on how to find and raise money from the best investors on the best terms, it is critical to remember that there are limits to what can be said and done under applicable securities … Continue reading this entry

In our last post “Coming to America Part I,” we discussed why emerging companies would choose enter the US market to do business. In this post, we will discuss the many interrelated legal and cultural factors non-US companies must consider in order to establish a successful US presence.… Continue reading this entry

As of late, many emerging companies have decided to enter the U.S. market. While international expansion is an important Ubusiness milestone, there are multiple legal and cultural considerations companies must reflect on. In this two part series, we will discuss why companies choose to come to the United States to do business and what companies … Continue reading this entry

Founders are often focused on maintaining at least 51% ownership of their companies. With 51%, they will be able to control the Company, and their destiny. At least that’s what they thought. In reality, the 51% control premium is often contracted away in the world of preferred stock venture financings. In a typical venture financing, … Continue reading this entry

Over the course of our “Why Start-Ups Use Convertible Debt” series, we’ve discussed the two common paths start-up companies take to structure a financing. In Part I, we discussed common stock financing and in Part II, we discussed a convertible debt financing. In Part III, we will review the main principles start-up companies must remember … Continue reading this entry

In Part I of our “Why Start-Ups Use Convertible Debt” series, we discussed one of the typical start-up financing structures, the sale of common stock, along with the issues that should be considered when setting a valuation. Based on the issues that arise with the sale of common stock, another financing option that tends to … Continue reading this entry

Most start-up companies turn to friends, family and/or high net worth individuals as the first source of capital to fund their operations. Banks will not lend to these companies since there are no real assets to collateralize the loans, and most venture capitalists and other institutional investors need to see a further developed company with … Continue reading this entry